


A Nerd with the Popular Girl

by nakkacchii



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hanamaki Takahiro - Freeform, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-09 01:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8870449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakkacchii/pseuds/nakkacchii
Summary: “So how did your friends react once you told them?” Hanamaki asked. He was a little nervous to know. Your friends didn’t really favor him with you. His hunch was only confirmed when you told him they originally wanted you to be with Oikawa.“How else?” you sighed. “Of course, they were happy for me because you asked me out. But they would have been more ecstatic if it was Oikawa-san, apparently. But not like I care. I don’t like Oikawa-kun in that way. Ultimately, they’re happy for me. How about you?”Hanamaki shrugged. “Nothing crazy. They were trying to help us get together. It was just a matter of when I would do it, really.”“At least we know we have their support,” you replied.“Yeah,” Hanamaki agreed. But as he smiled at you, you could tell he was discouraged.





	

You always assumed Hanamaki was popular. He was an all round player for Seijuro, he was pretty resourceful during games, and he was attractive. You couldn’t deny that, whenever you would see him with the other third years, he caught your eyes the most. He was interesting.

To your surprise, it was actually the opposite. You curiosity got the better of you and you couldn’t help but ask your friends.

_Hanamaki-san? Whose that?_

_She’s talking about the other volleyball player that hangs out with Oikawa-san._

_Oh, him? What about him? He doesn’t really... Stand out. Except for his pink hair. Its weird._

_Yeah, and why look at him when you can look at Oikawa-san?_

Disappointed in your friend’s answers, you decided to find out for yourself. Whenever the opportunity came to, you would talk to him. It couldn’t be hard. All you had to do was go up to him whenever he was alone and just talk. It shouldn’t be long until the opportunity came. Hanamaki just seemed too interesting to not talk to. He wasn’t popular like you assumed. You felt a little bad assuming. It made you just want to learn what type of person Hanamaki was.  


But it never felt like the opportunity would come to you. Whenever you watched him from the end of the hall, he would be surrounded by the other third years. At lunch, he would be with his friends and you with yours. Whenever you tried to ask them to eat outside, they decided against it. Seeing Hanamaki laugh with his friends through a window seemed as best as it could be for you. Sometimes you would catch Hanamaki in the library during fifth period. Apparently you two had the same free period. It seemed like the best time for you to sit with him, if only there were seats around him available.

It seemed hopeless. It was actually hopeless. But even feeling a little discouraged, watching Hanamaki wasn’t a total disappointment. You liked his smile. Whenever he laughed with his friends, his smile would be more charming than theirs. It was pretty contagious. You enjoyed seeing him smile with his friends. You learned he always had a cream puff along with his bento for lunch. It made you chuckle, because some days, the food in his bento didn’t seem flavor friendly with a cream puff. But Hanamaki always enjoyed his lunches. One day in the library, you found out he actually read more than studied. He studied plentiful, but it seemed like this was his free period to read whatever he wanted. Some days would vary. It would be a book for literature class, a video game magazine, or manga. You were actually surprised to see the different mangas he read, because you read the same ones.

And then it hit you. For as long as you’ve watched Hanamaki, you would get nervous when he would catch you looking at him. It was pretty embarrassing to say, watching someone from a far. He didn’t know you existed, but the times he did look at you, it felt like the world was on fire. Except it didn’t hurt. Whenever you smiled at his smile, you realized you liked his smile too much. You wanted him to always smile. When you were watching him during lunch one day, Matsukawa and Iwaizumi looked at you from the ground. You were confused why they looked at you, but as you watched them talk to Hanamaki, you could feel your cheeks become red when he looked up at you. You looked away once he found your eyes, too embarrassed to keep looking. Hanamaki could think you were a weirdo or something if you kept looking at him. During free period, you couldn’t help but stare. You thought of too many scenarios of how to approach him. But it still remained the same, Hanamaki made you nervous. You couldn’t just simply go up to him. It wasn’t as easy as you assumed. And one day, when you were caught up in your mind trying to think of a way to talk to Hanamaki, you found him looking back at you. It took you a second to realize he was looking at you, but the second you did, you couldn’t help but look away.

From just a few days of watching Hanamaki became two months of watching him. You assumed there would be a change in routine, but it was disappointing to see no change. And your friends weren’t making it easier.

“So do you like Hanamaki-san?” your friend, Haru, asked.

“Huh? No,” you replied. “I’ve never even talked to him.”

“Yeah, she’s lying,” your other friend, Fyoutaba, accused.

“F-Fyoutaba-san! I’m not lying! I don’t know Hanamaki-san to like him!” you stuttered nervously. This was such a ridiculous topic.

“But you’re always watching him. At first I thought you were looking at Oikawa-san like the rest of us, but you’re just looking at the strawberry dude,” your friend, Akari scoffed.

“Akari-san, that’s not nice. He doesn’t look like a strawberry,” you corrected sheepishly.

Poor Hanamaki, at first you thought it was your friends. But a few times you would call him the “strawberry bean stalk” whenever he passed them in the halls. It made you frown deeper than you thought you would.

“Whatever, who cares?” Akari scoffed. She put her chin in her palm and stared at you annoyed.

“W-What?”

“I don’t get it. You’re popular, ____-san. You can get any guy you want!”

“Yeah, what Akari-san said!” Fyoutaba agreed.

Seeing as Haru nodded her head with her full support made you sigh. It was strange to admit, but you did attract alot of attention. You never understood why, but more than half of the guys would stare at you whenever you walked down the hallway. When you would try to help a guy with stuff he was about to drop, he would immediately drop everything and become a stuttering mess. You didn’t appreciate it, but you never understood. None of the guys knew you, yet they tried their best to please you or try to talk to you.

“I hate to admit it, because I want to get with Oikawa-san, but you could even get him!” Akari cried. “He even asks you to watch their practices just for you to support him! I’m so jealous!”

“And yet, she wants the strawberry dude, I don’t get it,” Fyoutaba told disappointed. You watched as your friends shook their head disappointedly at you.

_Because if I show up to the gym with Oikawa, Hanamaki would assume you were trying to be Oikawa’s girlfriend._ You definitely didn’t want to give off that impression. 

You frowned to your friends remarks. It was like this for you almost everyday. Even before Hanamaki made you curious, they would try to convince Oikawa and you would make a cute couple. You didn’t really understand since Oikawa only started asking you to come to practice. He first asked you almost a month ago, and every time you would reject him.

It wasn’t that Oikawa wasn’t handsome. He was. He just wasn’t for you. It didn’t flatter you he would flirt with a group of girls. It was like he liked the attention just to brag. You felt rude to assume but it was hard to think otherwise. You would hear some of the fan girls say Oikawa would invite them to his games and he would invite you to practice. Oikawa just liked attention. You were just another girl he was trying to entertain, for some reason. You didn’t really want him to entertain you though. You just wanted to keep watching Hanamaki, and watch him smile.

 

“____-chan!” you heard Oikawa call.

You forced a smile before closing your locker. Surprisingly, Matsukawa was with Oikawa. “Hi, Oikawa-san, Matsukawa-san.”

“____-chan, I think today’s the day you’ll watch me practice!” Oikawa chimed, his smile too bright. Matsukawa gave him a disapproving smile.

“Ah, sorry Oikawa-san. I have alot of homework to do, so I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to watch you guys practice,” you declined.

“Aw, but ____-chan, I work harder when you watch,” Oikawa whined.

“Oikawa-san, I’ve never watched you play though,” you replied with a nervous smile.

“Ignore Oikawa, ____-san,” Matsukawa shook his head. You both shared a laugh when Oikawa had a cry. “But you should come watch us practice. Just a few minutes, and when you need to go, you can go.”

“Ah, I don’t now,” you trailed off. You rubbed the back of your neck nervously.

“It’ll be fun,” Oikawa chimed.

Your eyes looked at the enthusiastic Oikawa and then to a calm, smiling Matsukawa. “Why do you guys want me to watch?”

Matsukawa and Oikawa looked to each other, then to you with a smile. “Volleyball’s fun to watch.”

Their answered surprised you. You thought it would be something personal, like Oikawa just liked looking at your pretty face. It was what you were used to when presumptuous guys would hit on you. Then again, volleyball was fun to watch. And Hanamaki would be there.

You hummed your lips. “I can stay for only a little?”

“Or the whole time, whichever you prefer,” Oikawa chimed again. Matsukawa elbowed Oikawa with a pout. “Ouch! Okay!”

“You don’t have to come today. We just know you like watching,” Matsukawa said.

“Watching?” Just the word made you think they knew you watched Hanamaki in secret these past two months. Your cheeks went warm at the idea.

“Well, yeah. You go to our games alot. Sometimes you’re even alone. You must really like volleyball,” Matsukawa replied, winking.

If you weren’t so caught up thinking about getting caught watching Hanamaki, you would have thought more about the wink. “Ah, yeah. Well I guess I’ll go.”

 

Whenever you watched Hanamaki, it was like he was in another world. You used to think he would never see you, but whenever he played, it was definite Hanamaki would never notice you. All of his mind was on the volleyball he was practicing with. Picking it up whenever it was spiked at him, hitting it whenever someone set it to him, blocking it from touching the floor when someone spiked at him. It was admirable.

When you walked into the gym with Matsukawa and Oikawa, a few of the team members looking at you. You would smile at a few nervously, already noticing their pink cheeks. Even with the others staring at you, there were others still keeping their attention on the ball in front of them.  
One of the people being Hanamaki. Even as he stood in front of you, with you in perfect view, his eyes never left the volleyball. He was amazing. It was nothing like this smile. The concentration in his eyes were powerful, the small frown whenever it wasn’t a good pass made your heart become just as warm as your cheeks. Frustrated with his pass, once Iwaizumi passed it back nicely, Hanamaki hit the ball with all his strength.

And it was heading right for you.

Instinctively, you held your hands up. The ball was coming too fast for you to dodge it. At the sound of a smack, you flinched. This was it, you were going to end up on the gym floor, a bloody nose. This was your karma for always watching Hanamaki like some weirdo. He would never notice you now. But then you realized, you didn’t feel any pain.

“Are you okay, ____-chan?”

You opened your eyes from behind your hands to find Oikawa holding the ball of a sudden. He must have saved the ball from hitting you. You dropped your hands once you realized you weren’t in any danger.

“Y-Yes. Thank you, Oikawa-san,” you addressed thankfully. You heard a couple of footsteps coming toward you. You stiffened to see Iwaizumi and Hanamaki jogging over to you three. You were especially surprised to see he was worried.  
He was worried about you.

“____-san, I-I’m sorry! I didn’t aim it for you!” Hanamaki apologized loudly.

Hanamaki Takahiro was talking to you. He was actually talking to you.

“You... You know my name?” you managed to say. The four third years grouping around you were surprised at your response. Especially Hanamaki. For some reason, his cheeks almost matched his hair.

“Y-Yeah, of course. You’re always watching me,” Hanamaki stuttered nervously.

You couldn’t hold back the small squeak at Hanamaki’s response. Even as Iwaizumi elbowed Hanamaki lightly in the side, you felt your heart drop. He knew. He thought you were a weirdo. This was it. You were going to be known as the weird girl who stares at Hanamaki. It was always hopeless, at this rate, you were never going to find out what kind of Hanamaki was now.

“Ah, so ____-san, you could watch us practice in the bleachers or at the top. Either one’s fine, you won’t get hit with a ball,” Matsukawa teased. Whether it was you or Hanamaki he teased, you couldn’t tell. You were both equally embarrassed.

“A-Actually, I think I’m going to head home. I don’t want to be a bother and that homework is waiting for me,” you chuckled nervously. This was humiliating. Hanamaki just thought of you as some weird chick who had a staring problem.

“You won’t be a bother,” Iwaizumi chuckled. That surprised you. Iwaizumi always seemed a bit stand off-ish, definitely intimidating. But hearing him laugh, he was nicer than you assumed. “And you’re one of the top students. You gotta take a break from studying sometimes. Right, Hanamaki?”

“Uh, y-yeah,” Hanamaki stuttered. You hadn’t noticed until you looked at him, but he had been staring. His cheeks were still a bit pink. Great, you made him uncomfortable. Matsukawa and Oikawa did say you could leave whenever. Ten minutes and then you would be gone. You could handle ten more minutes of humiliation.

“We’re going to get dressed. Hanamaki, do you want to help ____-san up the stairs?” Oikawa chimed.

You and Hanamaki shot shocked looks at Oikawa. Of course, you were more embarrassed. Being alone with Hanamaki? While he thought all those things about you? No, you would rather just run out the gym now! You felt like you were about to. The tips of your toes were on fire, as if begging to leave.

“N-No, it’s okay! I can manage, I don’t-”

“Uh, s-sure,” Hanamaki muttered sheepishly.

“Huh?” Hanamaki slowly looked at you. His lips were pouting, but awkwardly. His cheeks were pinker than his hair now. So cute.

“I don’t mind. We left a bunch of equipment in the way, so it would be a hassle for you to move it by yourself. I’ll just do it for you,” Hanamaki explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you!” And the other third years were off. And with that, you and Hanamaki walked to the stairs.

It was quiet between you two as you began walking. You held onto your briefcase tighter than usual. It was annoying to feel your palms sweat, but you couldn’t help it. From watching Hanamaki a few feet away to suddenly walking side by side with him, it was nerve-wracking. Especially because he thought you were some stalker.

“Uh, Hanamaki-san-”

“So you wanted-”

You both looked to each other surprised. “Ah, sorry! You go ahead.”

“Oh, uh. I... I was just gonna ask about you watching. You wanted to come by today?” Hanamaki asked.

“S-Sort of. Oikawa-san and Matsukawa-san asked me to come by. Said I would like it since I watch the games alot,” you said as you scratched your cheek. Just hearing or saying the word watch made you think Hanamaki would be reminded of what a weirdo you were.

“Oh, yeah, thanks,”

“Huh?”

“Ah, for watching our games!” Hanamaki corrected, his chuckle was a bit loud. It was cute. “You’re always watching our games. You even come alone. Oikawa always brags you come to support him.”

“What, I don’t come for him,” you snorted. Hanamaki looked at you surprised. “I come to watch everyone. The games are good. You guys play good. Every time you guys play, it’s like you never get tired. You just look like you’re having fun.”

“I am. Volleyball’s fun to play,” Hanamaki voiced. His cheeks seemed to calm, but yours hadn’t. His smile was different up close. It was radiating, so bright. So handsome. “So why do you come alone? If it’s not for Oikawa, then who?”

“Huh? Ah, well,” quick, think of something else. Say anything. Just don’t say for Hanamaki. “You guys are good. And you play all around, you never get tired. You’re amazing.” Crap. Not only did you say the same thing again, you just complimented him without explaining why you watch him so often. “I-I mean-”

“You think I’m amazing?” Hanamaki asked, almost astounded. He actually stopped walking, you had to look back a bit to notice he stopped.

“Hanamaki-san, I’m sorry, did that come off rude?”

“What? No,” Hanamaki replied, a bit too loud. He walked in front of you and opened the door. He just stayed next to the door. When you didn’t move, he looked to you with his cheeks pink again. “Y-You can go first.”

He was holding door open for you.

“O-Oh, thank you,” you stuttered. Quickly you went ahead, Hanamaki soon next to you walking up the stairs. “I’m sorry, do I make you uncomfortable?”

“N-No, I promise. It just... It’s a real compliment, getting called amazing, from you. That’s all,” Hanamaki actually smiled at you. Even if his cheeks were pink, he was smiling at you. You made him smile. “Oh, here let me get this out of the way for you.”

You didn’t even realize you were at the entrance for the other door. Hanamaki watched you curiously as you put your briefcase down. “I’ll give you a hand.”

“You don’t have to,” Hanamaki smiled. He wasn’t as nervous anymore. It made you happy, he was starting to become more comfortable with you. And he kept smiling at you. You just wanted to see more of his smile.

“I don’t mind. It’ll be faster for you to get to practice if I help anyway,” you said, already picking up a few of the equipment.

It was only a couple of old basketball carts, two four poles to hold the net, and dirty volleyball net in the way. Hanamaki explained that the sports closet was recently broken into. Thankfully, the new equipment was taken, but while someone stole a few of the mats and rackets, they seemed to have broken the cabinets that held the old equipment. All the old equipment fell and broke a hole into the floor. For safety and to fix the closet, the staff brought the old equipment here and if anyone wanted to watch, the volleyball players would have to get it out the way and put it back. Of course, hearing that, no one wanted to help or invited anyone to watch. It confused you why they didn’t mind you.

“That’s the last pole,” you announced cheerfully. Hanamaki and you smiled at each other.

“You’re strong, ____-san. I was a bit surprised but also grateful. Those poles by itself are heavy,” Hanamaki said as he wiped away a sweat off his forehead.

“Sorry to make you work so hard before practice,”

“It’s okay. It’s a little work out,” Hanamaki smiled at you. He was sweet. Or maybe it was his smile that told you that so much. Either way, you just couldn’t take your eyes off his smile or stop smiling yourself.

It was a bit quiet between you two. It was almost like you two had forgotten that Hanamaki actually had to get back to practice. You felt a little bad to be envious he had to leave. You wanted to talk to him a little longer. But then a whistle brought you two back to reality.

“You should get back to practice. I’ll be up here, watching you,” you said with a small smile. Seeing Hanamaki’s pink cheeks again (so cute, you’d never get tired of it) you realized you said the unspoken word. “Ah, not just you! Everyone else! I’ll be watching you guys practice!”

It felt a bit awkward Hanamaki said nothing. He just stared. There was that humiliation that made you want to run away. Was it too late too run away?

At the sound of his laughter, you eased. “I’ll work hard.”

“Okay,” you nodded, relieved. “Practice hard, Hanamaki-san.”

The team practiced together so in sync. Even when they made a mistake, it only took another or two times to get it perfect. You never played volleyball or fully understood the rules, but it was amazing. Hanamaki was especially amazing. His hits were so in sync with Oikawa’s tosses. It must be the three years playing together. The team communication was perfect as well. They supported each other and critiqued one another when needed. Nothing could ever go wrong. Except for one player, he was a second year. It was strange to see Hanamaki a bit annoyed or angry, but it was refreshing to see a new side to Hanamaki.

When the team decided to scrimmage against one another, you hadn’t realized you had been watching for about an hour. It seems the team had noticed as well when a few of them looked up at you. Hanamaki even looked up, surprisingly. You couldn’t help but be a little nervous. It was Hanamaki, he always made you nervous. Especially now that he can look at you any time now. If he caught you staring again, who knows what else he would think of you?

After the teams were decided and the players got into the according formation, the whistle began. You watched the ball go from one side to another as each player had their contact with the ball. Some plays would be faster than the other, attacks coming fast or Oikawa would dump the ball unexpectedly. Other plays would rally on longer than usual. Those were your favorites because no one knew which side would gain a point.

As the ball landed on the other side, Hanamaki’s team rotated one spot, bringing him to the front. You smiled wider, excited to see him attack. Whenever Hanamaki attacked the ball, it was like he was flying. There was no limit to how high he jumped, over the net he had unlimited decisions of how to attack his opponents. The best part of him attacking was the victorious smile he would have as he cheered with his team. You wish he could smile at you when he made a point. It had never happened, but you could tell that smile was different from the candid one you would see when he was with friends.

Iwaizumi jumped as he hit the ball midair, making the ball dart to the other side of the court. Watari picked it up gracefully, allowing Yahaba to pick up the ball. Your eyes were attached to the ball as Yahaba set it to Matsukawa. In a blink of an eye, the ball was in front of Matsukawa then suddenly being received by Iwaizumi. The pass was off, farther from the net than needed. Oikawa ran forward, setting the ball. It seemed like it was going straight to Iwaizumi. It was what you expected because Iwaizumi ran, and you knew that the two had a good bond. Their communication and perfect sync had been molded through years of friendship.

But instead, Oikawa set the ball behind him, perfectly to where Hanamaki wanted it. With a loud grunt, Hanamaki hit the ball right as Matsukawa jumped to block his hit. But his attempts failed. Hanamaki hit the ball down against Matsukawa’s hand and the ball landing on outside of the court.

A loud roar came from Hanamaki’s team as they surrounded Hanamaki in a victorious wail. He smiled at them, thankful for their support. You couldn’t hold back our own smile and cheers.

“Good job, Hanamaki-kun!” you called out with your hands cupping over your mouth. It didn’t seem that loud, especially because the roars covered yours.

But Hanamaki heard you. His eyes opened up a bit, surprised, as he looked up at you. Maybe he was still uncomfortable with you. Maybe you shouldn’t have called out to him. You weren planning to leave anyway.

Hanamaki smiled at you. He was really smiling at you.

You ended up staying the whole practice.

 

Since then, it was easier to approach Hanamaki. Instead of watching from far away, you would be able to say hi in the hallways. Whenever he ate lunch, some days you would wave from the window or he would go to your classroom to say hi before down with the guys. You didn’t get to watch much more practice after because homework, but before you would go home, you would either walk to practice with Hanamaki or give him a water bottle from the vending machine. Whenever it was free period, Hanamaki tended to be the first one there. You were surprised to see he saved you a seat next to him or got a table just for you two. Free period had become your favorite since you two were able to study together. And of course get to know each other. You felt a little silly to talk the whole period about the manga book. Hanamaki was surprised to find out you liked the same manga artist, but it was something you two could smile about together. There was progress in your friendship, you were excited.

You finally got to know what type of Hanamaki was. He was amazing. He wasn’t the popular guy that you assumed. Hanamaki didn’t get chased by girls like you thought. Even if he was popular or chased by girls, there was a personality underneath it all. Hanamaki enjoyed naps under the kotatsu more than sleeping in his own bed. The artist you both favor is his favorite because it's a mix of stories between God's and their battles of power, politics, and love. Hanamaki was embarrassed to admit he liked the love story the most when you asked what was his favorite part of the manga. When you asked about the cream puff in his bento box, Hanamaki was surprised you could see that far.

_“You noticed that much about me?” Hanamaki asked._

_You were nervous. It was still possible Hanamaki could feel uncomfortable with you since you watched him for about two months. “Y-Yeah. It was just… When I saw you eating and saw your bento box, I noticed you always had one or two cream puffs. You have a strange taste, Hanamaki-kun.”_

_Hanamaki blushed as he heard your laugh. He was thankful you just missed it._

_“Well, they’re my favorite,” Hanamaki informed, rubbing the back of his neck. “My Mom gets them just for me at this bakery. It's out of habit, I guess. I used to throw a fit or something when she wouldn't leave them in my lunches, so she always puts em in since then.”_

_“The cream puffs must be good. I should try it some time,” you laughed._

_You went back to studying as Hanamaki stated at you. It was an understatement when everyone called you drop dead gorgeous. It was like a sin to be that beautiful. And you liked to spend your time talking to him._

_“We should go,” You looked to Hanamaki, surprised. He didn't look you in the eyes as he scratched his cheek. How cute. Would he ever stop being cute? “I can take you, and we can try different pastries if you want.”_

_Would he ever stop making you smile? “I’d like that, Hanamaki-kun.”_

Hanamaki was bashful. He had a sweet, sincere side to him. He enjoyed quiet moments but can fall in love with the roar of the crowd during a game. He had a smile unlike anyone other. Hanamaki always teased Oikawa but was so appreciative of him. Hanamaki always smiled. He smiled at chapters that made him laugh in mangas. He smiled at you whenever he caught you looking at him now. He smiled when he won Seijou a point.

You didn’t know when it happened, but you fell in love with that smile. And you loved Hanamaki.

 

“Oh, this one is good!” you exclaimed, delighted. Hanamaki had a small laugh when he noticed there was some chocolate on your lip. You wiped your lip with a napkin when he pointed to his own lip. “How embarrassing.”

“I don’t really like that one because it has too much chocolate, but at least you like it,” Hanamaki replied with a smile.

With so much homework piling atop of one another and Hanamaki being busy with volleyball, it was a miracle you two found the time to even go to the bakery shop Hanamaki was telling you about. You had to remind yourself it was just two friends hanging out and not a date. Except your outfit didn’t really think it was just two friends hanging out. You put a little more effort into being cute than you intended, but Hanamaki didn’t seem to mind. He must have been a little surprised since he was a bit silent when he first saw you. His cheeks were even a little pink. Just as you were going to ask if something was wrong, Hanamaki smiled at you. It was getting to the point where he needed to stop smiling or else you would end up in the hospital. Hanamaki’s smile could never relax your heart, it was actually the opposite.

“It feels weird to be the only one trying the sweets, Hanamaki-kun,” you admitted bashfully. There was a tray of a majority of the bakery’s pastries in front of you two, but you were the only one trying them. Hanamaki had gotten two of the same pastries he liked and also wanted you to try.

“I’ve already tried most of the pastries. At least I’m eating some of the pastries with you!” Hanamaki smiled widely. So cute, so cute. You felt your ears warm up. Without thinking you bit down onto your fork with the pastry swiftly. Hanamaki was so cute, you could never talk whenever he smiled at you.

“Ne, ne, isn’t that ____-san and Hanamaki Takahiro together?”

Hanamaki and you looked to each other. The voices were coming from behind you, so Hanamaki peeked discreetly. It was two girls talking amongst themselves as they waited in line for the pastries. Luckily their eyes were locked on you that they didn’t notice Hanamaki’s eyes.

“It is! Wow, she’s dressed so cute, I wonder if they’re on a date?” Your face went red with the mention of date. Great, now Hanamaki was going to assume you thought it was a date and think of you as a weirdo. You didn’t dare to look at Hanamaki.

“Ew, no. Hanamaki wouldn’t be her type. ____-san is too pretty for him! And too popular, now that I think about it.”

“Eh, really? He seems nice though, why-”

“He’s a total nerd. Nerds don’t date popular girls, she’s probably just hanging out with him out of pity. I mean, I wouldn’t blame her. He doesn’t seem like he could get a girlfriend that easily.”

Your eyes shot up to Hanamaki, terrified. No, no that’s not why you hang out with him. And what those girls were saying about Hanamaki were just rude. Hanamaki was more than a nerd. He didn’t-

“It’s okay,” Hanamaki said. You flinched to his words. He was smiling… But it looked so disappointed. “I know we’re friends, you wouldn’t hang out with me just out of pity.”

Hanamaki stood up from his chair, your eyes unable to leave Hanamaki. “Hanamamki-kun?”

At first he wouldn’t look at you. He took a few steps but stopped when you grabbed onto his wrist. You couldn’t find the words to say, and you hated that Hanamaki smiled at you… Like he believed those girls words. “It’s okay. I’m just going to get you more pastries.”

Your heart stung to let go of Hanamaki’s wrist. He pocketed his hands as he waited in line. To someone on the outside, Hanamaki looked fine. He smiled at people who walked by and he smiled so big. But you knew. He was hurting on the inside.

As Hanamaki returned with another tray of pastries, your eyes watched him. It was hard not to frown when you knew Hanamaki was hurting. When he looked to you, he laughed into his smile.

“Don’t worry about it so much, ____-san. I’m used to it. I blend in with the group. And besides, I am a nerd. Nothing’s wrong with nerds, I’m pretty awesome. So don’t let it bother you,” Hanamaki encouraged.

But you couldn’t let it stop bothering you. Even as he stuffed his mouth with two more pastries, you couldn’t help but feeling guilty. Who cares if you were  
popular? Who cares if Hanamaki was a nerd?

“I still like you if you’re a nerd. And I want to date you. Not because out of pity or anything, but because I like you, Hanamaki-kun,” you murmured nervously. 

You could tell Hanamaki froze at your words. You slowly looked up from the pastries and was surprised. Hanamaki was frozen with a few of the pastries stuffed in his mouth. “Hanamaki-kun? You know you have to eat them right?”

You yelped to see Hanamaki inhale the pastries in his mouth. His eyes never moved from yours even as he chewed the pastries and swallowed them. His jaw wouldn’t close fully as he just stared at you. He probably didn’t like what you said. Of course, you were just a weirdo to him.

“Hanamaki-kun, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have-”

“You actually like me?”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Hanamaki brought his head against his arms on the table. It shocked you, really. Hanamaki was always smiling and composed. But the closer you looked, his ears were red.

“Hanamaki-kun?” There was no response, but his neck was becoming red now. “Hanamaki-kun, do you need water?”

“Oikawa and them kept saying you liked me,” Hanamaki muffled into the table.

“What?”

Hanamaki sat up but looked down at the pastries. His red cheeks were contagious, because now you could feel your cheeks become hot.

“Oikawa and Matsukawa said you liked me,” Hanamaki rubbed the back of his neck as he talked, looking out the window instead of you. “I thought they were teasing me, cus… I mean, you’re the popular girl of the school. What those girls said were kind of true. You’re way too pretty and popular for me.

“And then Matsukawa said you were looking at me a lot. I thought he was still teasing me. Then Iwaizumi said the same thing one day at lunch, he even told me to look. Iwaizumi doesn’t joke, but I had to look just to know. And you really were looking at me.

“Then I started noticing myself you were looking at me. I saw you one time in the hallway looking my way, but before I could really look at you, you ran away. I didn’t really believe since I was just peeking at you. But then I tried looking at you in the window when it was lunch. When you looked away, I kind of knew. And then free period came around, it was true. I always knew you were there. I used to avoid you because I didn’t really think you wanted to be around the nerdy kid. Then I caught you staring. You wouldn’t stop staring even when I was staring back. It was cute, kinda.”

He called you cute. He was laughing and called you cute. Wasn’t he cute? How could you be cute when he was cute? It just didn’t seem possible.

“But then I overheard Oikawa said you kept rejecting him to come watch practice. I thought he was trying to date you, so I didn’t say anything. It kind of sucked, but it made sense. Oikawa and you seemed like a good match. Both popular, and pretty attractive. But you aren’t annoying. It just surprised me when I heard Matsukawa saying Oikawa was messing things up for me, I kind of got it.”

_“You idiot, you’re asking her to watch you I bet. That’s why she won’t come,” Matsukawa huffed._

_“Shittykawa, she likes Hanamaki, not you!” Iwaizumi scowled as he punched Oikawa in the back of the head._

_“Ow, ow! Iwa-chan, that’s not nice! We have practice soon!”_

_“I don’t care, stop inviting her to watch you!”_

_“But all the girls love me! How could she say no to me?!”_

_“She likes Hanamaki, not you,” Iwaizumi and Matsukawa growled simultaneously._

_“And stop trying to make it sound like you want to be with her. Hanamaki’s going to think he has no chance with her or something,” Iwaizumi stated._

_“I know they like each other! But!”_

_“But?” Iwaizumi and Matsukawa sighed annoyed._

_“But I’m Oikawa Toruu, it would be a definite of her coming to practice if I asked!”_

_“Obviously not if you’ve been asking her this whole time and she’s said no each time!” Again, Iwaizumi punched Oikawa in the back of the head. Hanamaki chucked. You would assume Oikawa would learn by now with Iwaizumi tossing him around._

_Hanamaki heard Matsukawa sigh. “I guess I’ll invite her since you’re doing it all wrong. We’re helping them get together, remember? Not boost your self esteem. We’re trying to boost Hanamaki’s over here!”_

_“I know! I know! But of course Makki gets all nervous around ____-chan. She’s super pretty and Makki gets all shy! A nerd has no experience-”  
Iwaizumi punched Oikawa again, from the sounds of it._

_“Ow, Iwa-chan! That hurt!”_

_“Even if he’s a nerd, she likes him! But he won’t make a move because he’s so damn nervous, so stop using her too boost your stupid ego! You have enough crazy fan girls as it is!”_

_“But, but!” Oikawa looked to Matsukawa. “Mattsun! How could she say no to me?!”_

_“Easy. Even if she doesn’t like Hanamaki, she could still say no to you,” Iwaizumi grumbled as Matsukawa sighed._

Hanamaki finally looked at you, entranced by your laugh. So cute. “Iwaizumi-san isn’t wrong. I could still say no to Oikawa-san if I didn’t like you.” At the sudden realization to your confession, you became pink again. “Oh, um. Continue.”

“Oh, yeah,” Hanamaki was brought back to Earth. He was too busy thinking about how cute you were to realize he wasn’t done with his story. “Anyway, when you came to practice, I didn’t want to believe it. I was too distracted from the fact that I almost hit you to realize you were actually in front of me. Then it suddenly hit me. You were in front of me. You actually came to watch us practice. And then it hit me again. You were here at practice to watch us.

“You were going to be there the whole time, and just watch us. You would watch me hit the ball, pass them, and everything. I got super nervous the longer you were there. Especially when you said you changed your mind. I thought you were mad at me for almost hitting you. I felt like I messed up my chances or something.”

“Your chances?” you asked timidyly. Was this really going the way… The way you didn’t expect?

“Yeah,” Hanamaki answered hesitantly. “But we talked. I kind of thought it was crazy you thought I didn't know your name. You're popular, everyone knows your name. And I'm just some nerd that plays volleyball with his friends. But you still talked to me. And we’ve been talking so much. I look forward to talk to you everyday. Even though you’re popular, you still talk to me. Some nerd. And for a popular girl, it was pretty amazing you had some nerdy aspects to you too,” He was really laughing when he said that. He was laughing so delighted to find something you two had in common. Hanamaki was happy just like you were when you found out you two had something to talk about. “It was pretty amazing how much I really fell for you once I started getting to know you, cus… I never thought I had a chance.”

You barely heard the soft murmurs of Hanamaki’s voice over the chatters of everyone’s conversations in the bakery. But you heard, and you thanked every God in the Japanese sky for letting you hear every word of his.

Hanamaki finally clicked his eyes towards you when you reached out for one of the cream puffs on the second tray of pastries he got. “____-san?” You smiled at the cream puff, as if you already knew you would like it. A bit of the cream had gotten on the tip of your nose when you bit into it. Hanamaki couldn’t help but laugh, and once you joined in his laugh, he smiled at you. “How do you like it?”

“I like it,” you answered delighted. Cream puffs were good, no wonder Hanamaki had one every bento box. Your eyes shined at Hanamaki. “I like you. A lot.”  
At this point, Hanamaki learned you were full of surprise. But this surprise, this one had to be the best he’s ever learned about you.

“Like me enough… To be my girlfriend?” You took your eyes away from your cream puff. Hanamaki had his hand over his mouth as he looked to the side. His face was red. Once he looked at you, his skin calmed.

You were smiling at him. And then you popped the rest of the cream puff into your mouth. “Yes, I would like that. A lot.”

 

Soon, the whole school found out Hanamaki was dating the most popular girl in school. Not the day after he asked you out, but gradually. Whether it was from being seen together more often at the school or people would catch you smiling at your phone whenever Hanamaki texted you. It might have been from when you two had told your friends.

_“So how did your friends react once you told them?” Hanamaki asked. He was a little nervous to know. Your friends didn’t really favor him with you. His hunch was only confirmed when you told him they originally wanted you to be with Oikawa._

_“How else?” you sighed. “Of course, they were happy for me because you asked me out. But they would have been more ecstatic if it was Oikawa-san, apparently. But not like I care. I don’t like Oikawa-kun in that way. Ultimately, they’re happy for me. How about you?”  
Hanamaki shrugged. “Nothing crazy. They were trying to help us get together. It was just a matter of when I would do it, really.”_

_“At least we know we have their support,” you replied._

_“Yeah,” Hanamaki agreed. But as he smiled at you, you could tell he was discouraged._

Either way, you two didn’t mind. You were finally able to see Hanamaki’s smile whenever you wanted. You could finally be with the one you wanted after what felt like years.

 

You two had been dating for about six months now. Hanamaki and you had experienced many memorable moments together, good and bad. But you two had overcome them together, feeling your affection towards one another grow. 

You exited out the gymnasium and into the hallways to find the Seijou volleyball team.

“Takahiro!” you called out.

As soon as Hanamaki looked up from his sports bag, you had already jumped onto him, wrapping your arms around his neck. “Woah, hey!” You both laughed before sharing one quick kiss. “Thanks for coming to the game.”

“Of course,” you smiled as you wrapped your arms around him tighter. “You look so cool! Good job on your win!”

“Thanks!” Hanamaki smiled from ear to ear.

“What love birds, it's surprising to think that six months ago, Hanamaki actually needed our help to ask you out,” Matsukawa teased, the rest of the team joining in on the laugh.

Soon, you joined the laugh as Hanamaki flinched embarrassed. “S-Shut up!”

“Alright,” you announced as you dropped from Hanamaki’s height. “I’ll be waiting for you at home, okay? Text me when you’re on the way!”  
Hanamaki smiled at you. You were such a lovely soul, so happy to be with someone like him. How did he get so lucky with you? Hanamaki grabbed your shoulder lightly as he kissed your forehead. “Alright, see you later.”

“Bye bye!” you greeted him and the team as you ran off, waving to them.

“I’m glad you guys are happy together,” Iwaizumi said as he placed a hand on Hanamaki’s shoulder.

“It’s all thanks to you guys we’re even together,” Hanamaki shrugged. You could hear Oikawa’s fan girls whine as Oikawa began to make his way over to the team.

“Oh, you’re so welcome, Makki. If it wasn’t for me asking for her to watch me play volleyball, you two wouldn’t have gotten to fall in love,” Oikawa boasted proudly. Hanamaki, Matsukawa, and Iwaizumi grimaced to their captain’s words.

“Ne, ne, did you see that?” a few of the members could hear a few of Oikawa’s fan girls talk.

“Yeah, it was ____-san and Hanamaki-san. They really are still dating.”

A few of the team members looked to Hanamaki worried. Hanamaki did nothing but return to placing his things back into his sports bag.

“I can’t believe it, she actually looks happy with that nerd. Do you think she’s just pretending?”

“No way, ____-san’s too nice to do that. She must actually love him.”

“Yeah, right. How can such a popular girl be in love with that guy? He’s a total nerd!”

As the group of fan girls began to walk away laughing, Seijou looked to Hanamaki. He was standing, giving them his back.

“Makki, don’t listen to-”

“We better get going. The bus is going to leave soon,” Hanamaki interjected.

As Hanamaki began walking away, the team watched him disappointed. Hanamaki was an amazing guy. As a boyfriend and as a friend. Despite his love for mangas and video games, he was still amazing. It was one of the reasons you were so head over heels with him. The team could tell so much. Seeing you happy with him proved how much you didn’t care if Hanamaki was a nerd, you loved him too much to care. But seeing Hanamaki feel the words of others stab his heart was beginning to take a toll on him.

 

“You’re really going to let what other people say about you get to your head?”

Hanamaki took his eyes away from the window. Matsukawa was staring, just waiting. It made Hanamaki roll his eyes with a pout. “I’m over it.”

“You’re not. That’s the fifth time that’s happened this week, and you just get all quiet each time. Do you really care that people think you’re a nerd and ____-san is popular?” Matsukawa tested. Hanamaki looked back out the window with a grunt. After a few seconds passed, Matsukawa sighed. “How do you think ____-san would feel if she saw you like this?”

Hanamaki shrugged. He already knew the answer.

“She’d get upset. And not with you. With herself,” That was not the answer Hanamaki was expecting. “She would feel like she’s the blame for your misery. And I’m pretty sure you’re not the only one who's heard those people say those things about you. I know you two are happy, but when ____-san hears those things, I’m sure she gets sad. She’s a nice girl, she won’t let anyone take the blame besides herself.”

Hanamki thought about it. And Matsukawa was right. That was one of the reasons you were popular. You were too nice for your own good. You would take your time to make sure other people were studying for their final, and if they asked for a tutoring lesson, you would oblige, despite it cutting into your time to study for a final you would struggle with. Whenever you two had an argument, Hanamaki would hear more of your apologies rather than your own feelings. You were too nice for your own good and thought of others way more than yourself.

“Yeah, I should talk to her.”

“Yeah, you should. I didn’t put in all that effort to make Oikawa look a fool only, you know?” Hanamaki lightly punched Matsukawa with a laugh. “I like you guys together. Cheer each other up, alright?”

 

“You went to the bakery without me?” Hanamaki asked. You only smiled bigger as you held the box of pastries closer to your face. Hanamaki only gawfed a smile as you two embraced each other.

“C’mon, let’s eat some cream puffs,” you ordered. You grabbed Hanamaki, leading him through the house to the living room. As you sat down together on the couch, you opened the box of cream puffs. There were about twelve in the box. Six was a good amount for Seijou’s win and Hanamaki’s incredible efforts. As you smiled down to the cream puffs, you noticed Hanamaki seemed off. “Takahiro? You don’t want any?”

“Huh? Oh no, it’s not that. I just… I wanted to talk to you about something,” Hanamaki admitted.

“Oh,” this couldn’t be good. Every time Hanamaki said those words, it led to an argument. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing really, just… I know people have been talking about us,” Your eyes widened. It wasn’t good.

“Oh… Yeah, people have,” you cowered, slouching your shoulders a bit. You were disappointed, Hanamaki felt a little guilty. Matsukawa was right, you were taking the blame for it.

“____, I just… I didn’t think it would really get to me. I tried to not let it get to me,” Hanamaki admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. It was usually cute when he did that. But it wasn’t now. It only made your heart ache. It felt like this every time you heard those people say things like that about Hanamaki. They didn’t know who the real Hanamaki was. They didn’t know what an amazing person he was, or how happy he really did make you. But it still burned to hear them say those things about the man you love.

“Do you… Do you really believe what they say?” you asked. Hanamaki felt his heart patter as you held his hand.

“Being honest?” You nodded. “Sometimes. I’ve always thought you were too much for me. Too beautiful. Too popular. Too perfect for me. What could I have that matched how amazing you were?” You hated how Hanamaki chuckled at that, like it was something to be proud of.

“You… You really don’t think you’re amazing in your own way?”

Hanamaki shot his eyes to you, appalled. You looked upset, no, angry. “____, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is my own boyfriend doesn’t think he’s good enough for me when he’s so much more than I deserve,” you scoffed.

You got up from the couch, walking away. This was unbelievable. Hanamaki was a nerd. So what? He was more than just some nerd. Hanamaki was bashful. He had a sweet, sincere side to him. He enjoyed quiet moments but can fall in love with the roar of the crowd during a game. He had a smile unlike anyone other. Hanamaki always teased Oikawa but was so appreciative of him. Hanamaki always smiled. He smiled at chapters that made him laugh in mangas. He smiled at you whenever he caught you looking at him, even six months into your relationship.

“____, wait, I wasn’t done!” Hanamaki called out. He followed behind your steps and grabbed your wrist. “It’s just… Why me?!”

Your eyes widened again. “You’re asking that now?”

You were hurt. Hanamaki was offending you, and he felt bad. “I… You’re just so perfect. Everyone thinks I shouldn’t be with you.”

“Stop believing in other people! They can’t tell me who I like!” you shouted back. Hanamaki widened his eyes to your response.  
The silence spaced out between the two of you. Hanamaki loosened his hold on you as you slipped your arms around him, wrapping them along his waist. Hanamaki was so much more comfortable to hug than Oikawa, Matsukuawa, or Iwaizumi. Neither of them were your boyfriend, but even before Hanamaki was your boyfriend, his hugs comforted you better.  


“____?”

“No one can tell me who I’m supposed to be with or who I’m supposed to like,” you said. Your rubbed your forehead against him as he hugged you back. “I knew you were a nerd even when I first started watching you. I didn’t realize it then, but I liked you as a nerd. And stop saying nerd as if it's a bad thing! So what if you’re a nerd? We read manga together when we run out of things to talk about, which is rarely ever. We play videogames together, which is the best fun I’ve had in awhile. We have so much to talk about that I like, like the mangas, that no one would want to talk to me about. And so what if I’m ‘popular’?” The label boiled your blood. “I’m only popular because everyone thinks I’m pretty and nice. But they don’t know me and they don’t know you. They don’t know what I like, and when I finally make it known what I like, you’re at fault? No. I like you for you, Takahiro. And it shouldn’t bother you what people think. I like you, Takahiro. I love you.”

Your arms tightened around him more once you said the words, finally. It was the truth, but you were always scared to say the words. You just begged Hanamaki would figure out you loved him through everything. You said I love you whenever you packed three cream puffs in his bento box instead of two. You said I love you whenever you say in the stands to cheer him on. You said I love you when you cried after your fight, because you were just so scared to lose him.  
Suddenly, Hanamaki grabbed your face and made you look at him. “Takahiro?”

“You’re full of surprises, you know that?” Hanamaki smiled. His smile was magical, so contagious. “You’re amazing. And no one knows just how amazing."

“And no one knows how amazing you are. So please, don’t let them get to you. I love you for you. There’s nothing wrong with you,” you pouted. It made Hanamaki laugh. A second ago you were just so emotional about his feelings, and now you were like a child trying to convince a parent why the need a dog.

Slowly, a smile crept on your face to hear his laugh. Hanamaki brought his lips to your forehead, and with only centimeters away, whispered against your warm skin. “I love you, ____. I love you so much.”


End file.
